Greek School

Tuesday, October 18, 2022. When I was in elementary school, my parents made me attend Greek School for a few years.  I hated it.  It’s bad enough to have to go to school every day, but to go to more school afterwards?  What were they thinking?!  I didn’t know anyone, I never made any friends, and the teacher seemed very stern to me.  But guess what?  I learned the Greek alphabet and how to read and write the language, and I can still read it to this day.  It helped me so much in “regular” school though I didn’t realize it at the time.  All of that is well and good, but my very favorite memory of Greek School had nothing to do with learning Greek.  We lived close to the elementary school so I always walked home.  One day it was raining, and I was walking home with my super cool, see-through bubble umbrella.  (They went out of fashion for a while, and I have no idea why.  They were the best!) I was getting close to home when I saw my mom coming to pick me up in the car.  I guess I was running late.  I remember I was cold so it was great to get into the warm car, but even better than that was the food Mom had brought me to eat on the drive.  My mother was the best cook in the world.  She was born in the South but learned Greek cooking when she met my dad, and everyone said she cooked Greek food better than native Greeks.  One of our favorite things that she made was stuffed tomatoes, and on that cold rainy day, Mom had brought me still warm stuffed tomatoes wrapped in foil.  To this day, I think it’s the best thing I ever ate in my life.  It warmed me inside and out. Ever since, Greek School and those stuffed tomatoes have been linked in my mind.  And in my heart?  I see God there in my mom warming me as only a mother can.